The wordplasmoid was coined in 1956 byWinston H. Bostick (1916–1991) to mean a "plasma-magnetic entity":[8]
The plasma is emitted not as an amorphous blob, but in the form of atorus. We shall take the liberty of calling this toroidal structure a plasmoid, a word which means plasma-magnetic entity. The word plasmoid will be employed as a generic term for all plasma-magnetic entities.
Bostick researched the basic traits, and many details, of plasmoids.
Plasmoids appear to be plasma cylinders elongated in the direction of the magnetic field. Plasmoids possess a measurable magnetic moment, a measurable translational speed, a transverse electric field, and a measurable size. Plasmoids can interact with each other, seemingly by reflecting off one another. Their orbits can also be made to curve toward one another. Plasmoids can be made to spiral to a stop if projected into a gas at about 10−3 mm Hg pressure. Plasmoids can also be made to smash each other into fragments. There is some scant evidence to support the hypothesis that they undergo fission and possess spin.[8]
— Winston H. Bostick
A plasmoid has an internal pressure stemming from both the gas pressure of the plasma and themagnetic pressure of the field. To maintain an approximately static plasmoid radius, this pressure must be balanced by an external confining pressure. In a field-free vacuum, a plasmoid expands and dissipates rapidly.
Plasmoids have been formed in discharges with local magnetic field strengths on the order of 16,000 Tesla.[9]
Bostick went on to apply his theory of plasmoids toastrophysics phenomena. His 1958 paper,[10] applied plasmasimilarity transformations to pairs of plasmoids fired from a plasma gun (dense plasma focus device) that interact in such a way as to simulate an early model of galaxy formation.[11][12]
^Friday, DM; Broughton, PB; Lee, TA; Schutz, GA; Betz, JN; Lindsay, CM (3 October 2013). "Further insight into the nature of ball-lightning-like atmospheric pressure plasmoids".The Journal of Physical Chemistry A.117 (39):9931–40.Bibcode:2013JPCA..117.9931F.doi:10.1021/jp400001y.PMID23767686.
^Hones, E. W., Jr., "The magnetotail – Its generation and dissipation", (1976)Physics of solar planetary environments;Proceedings of the International Symposium on Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Boulder, Colo., June 7–18, 1976. Volume 2.
^Roosen, R. G.; Brandt, J. C., "Possible Detection of Colliding Plasmoids in the Tail of Comet Kohoutek" (1976),Study of Comets, Proceedings of IAU Colloq. 25, held in Greenbelt, MD, 28 October – 1 November 1974. Edited by B. D. Donn, M. Mumma, W. Jackson, M. A'Hearn, and R. Harrington. National Aeronautics and Space Administration SP 393, 1976., p.378
^Wang, S.; Lee, L. C.; Wei, C. Q.; Akasofu, S.-I., A mechanism for the formation of plasmoids and kink waves in the heliospheric current sheet (1988)Solar Physics (ISSN 0038-0938), vol. 117, no. 1, 1988, p. 157–169.
Bostick, W. H., "Experimental Study of Plasmoids",Electromagnetic Phenomena in Cosmical Physics, Proceedings from IAU Symposium no. 6. Edited by Bo Lehnert. International Astronomical Union. Symposium no. 6, Cambridge University Press, p. 87.
